Artificial leg.



S. R. ANDERSON. ARTIFICIAL LEG. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1912.

Patented May 27, 1913.

SAMUEL n. ANDERSON, or contest, iLLINoIS.

ARTIFICIAL LEG.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, SAMUEL R. Annsnson,

a citizen of the United States, residing at 'Quincy, in the county'ofAdams and State of Illinois, have'invented certain'new and I usefulImprovements in Artificial Legs; and

i do declare the following to be a full, clesir,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and gee the same.

This invention relates to artificial limbs, and more especially to legs;and the ob .ject of the same is to produce improvements in the detailedconstruction thereof, as hereinafter morefullydcscribed and claimed, andas shown in the drawings wherein-- Figurel isa side elevation and Fig. 2a

central vertical section of this improved leg complete; Figs.- 3 and 4are cross sections on'the lines 3-3 and 44 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is aperspective detail of the Y-shaped guard hereinafter described.

The foot-member of this improved artithe shape of the'lower half 1 of.the human foot, whose open part is covered over with cloth 2 and whoseinterior is stuffed as indicated at 3, and therefore it is possible forthe user to wear low-quarter shoes or slippers because the yieldingupper side 2 i of the. foot simulates the top of the human foot. Theankle joint is made of two memhers whereof the lowermost" is composed ofa bottom plate 4 fitting closely within the shell-like foot 1 andsecured thereto by counter-sunkscrews 5 andan upper portion 6 hhving acentral hole 7 5 and these two members are provided in their meetingfaces, ,lwith hemispherical sockets 8 as shown. ,At

\Zfour pointsaround said hole 7, the upper part 6 also carries hooksoreyes 9-. The v upper member of the ankle joint is a ball 10' fittingwithin the socket, and a shank'll projecting loosely through said hole 7hnd threaded'to receive nuts 12 and 13 standing respectively aboveandbelow a plate 14 which is carried by the lower leg-section.

This plate has eyes or hooks 15 connected.

with those on the lower member by means oil short coiled springs '16,and the tens on 'ot these springs is so adjnsteda'nd mamtained thattheentire 'foot section is normallyheld at its proper or natural angle tothe lower legsection/as shown. It is obthatby adwstlng the nuts 12 and13 Specification of Letters Patent. .i neenen filed December 2,1912.Serial No. 734,612.

ficial leg isstamped from aluminum into respect to the plate 14, and theleg can be shortened or lengthened slightly at this point as desired. Byremoving the screws which fasten the lower part 4 to the foot 1, thelatter can be taken off as for cleansing or repair.

The lower leg-section 20 is a shell of aluminum, by, preference stampedoriginally Patented May 2'7, 1913.

the shank 11 can be set higher or lower-with from a flat'sheet andbrought together along are connected by a bracin strip 22 secured to.outside of the comp eted leg in any suitable way, and this scam andstrip are threaded shank 11 as above described. The

back of the shell at its upper end is cut away as at 24 to produce adeep notch, and within the shell below the notch is secured a leatherstrap 25 which is drawn normallyinto the interior of this member by acontractlle spring 26 connecting the front of the shell with the strapat about the center a the line 21 where the edges of the sheet of thelength of the latter as shown. Transversely across the interior of theshell is a;

metallic arch 27 which may be a rod or strapeof. metal constituting a.cross bar to strengthen the shell at this mint and to afford means for;attaching the lower ends of contractile springs 28, whose upper ends arein turn'attached to'a similar cross bar :37 in the upper leg-section aswill be de scribed. Finally, thelower leg section carries hinge elementsas shownr The upper leg-section is also made from a sheet of aluminum 3Obent into tubular shape and its rear seam 31-cbvered by a strip 32secured to the outside thereof in fiany suitable manner; and this.section carrice hinge members 39- at its sides overlapping the hingemembers 29 on the lower leg- 1 section and pivot-ally connectedtherewith at the points 40 so that the leg can articulate at the kneejoint in the usual and natural manner. The upper end of the strap 25 isconnected to the lower end of the thighsection at such point 35 that theleg may not bend in the. wrong way. Internally this thigh sectioncarries a cross bar or strap 3'1 1 with which the: upper ends ot-thecontractile springs 28' are connected so that their tendency is tostrengthen the leg in theusual ,Qmennlen, A lcature, of the invwtionlies in section carries a guard which will simulate Y the knee-cap, andthis guard is by preference harness is not illustrated because it also.

formed front a if-shaped piece of aluminum whose single end or shank 331s secured inside'the lower end of the shell 30 at the rear, and itsdouble or forked end 34 is secured inside said shell at the front withthe arms .of the fork some distance apart. It follows that when the legis straight this curved guard depends into the upper end of the lowerleg-section, and when the leg is articulated the forked ends'of,theguard 'rise out of the upper end of the lower legsection and 'preventthe trousers or other clothing from falling into the opening thusexposed and becoining caught therein, or at least mortifying the wearer.I have purposely omitted all description and, illustration of the usualstrap and buckle employed for connecting the upper end of thethigh-section with the stump of the leg,because the same forms no partof thepresent invention.

A strildng feature of this invention consists in the means forsupporting the leg by-a harness which leads upward eitherto the wearerswaist or shoulders, and which forms no part of the present invention. To

opposite sides of the, thigh-section are secured pulley casings 41 ineach of which is journaled a flat pulley 42 having a grooved periphery,'and over the latter moves a' fine wire cord orrope 44 whose centerengages the pulley and whose arms diverge upward and pass through guides45 which may themselves be flat aluminum loops secured to the outer sideof the shell 30, these arms having. eyes tn other. 'fastenings 46 attheir. upperextremities to which the said harness attached.- Theconstruction is muchlike that of a Suspender-end inverted,

' and'with one of these members at the inside and another at the outsideof thethighsection, there are four loops or eyes 46 to which the harnesscan be. attached; hence this artificial limb will beheld in place withgreat forge, and perhaps the ordinary strap and buckle around thestunip'can be omitted. Yet it will be observed that the legcan swingforward andbackward without drawing onthe harness at the belt line orover the shoulders because the ropes or cords 44fmove under the'pulleys42 and through the guides 45. I prefer that said pulley casings andguides shall be quite flat and disposed on the exterior of the thigh;

sect-ion, in plain sight and easy case the ropes are :gaught, stretchedthey can readily I be "replaced. Moreover,

' will come reach, so that in should become broken or it is not usuallythe case that theclothing into such close contact with an artificiallimb at its upper end as it does over the knee or. ankle; andin anyevent it is necessary for the wearerscomfort that the means forsupporting the leg should be reliable and easy, light and accessible,and often. should entirely avoid the use of the stances the stumphasbecome sore or tender from the use thereof. If made of aluminurh,this entire leg will weigh but little, cannot rust, and is exceedinglystrong.

.The height to which the thigh-member 1scarried will of course depend onthe length of the stump remaining.

What is claimed as new is: I 1. In an artificial limb, thecombinationwith an outer shell-like member having openings in each side at itsouter end, and

a plate secured across the interior of said member opposite saidopenings and pierced with holes; of another member forming .theextremity of the limb and having an im ternal socket, a ball in saidsocket, a threadthe central hole in said plate, nuts on said shank atopposite sides of the plate and accessible through said openings, andyielding connections between theextreme member and the remaining holesin the plate of said outer member. v

2. In an artificial leg, the combination ed shank projecting from theball through thigh-section; of a strap secured within the rear ,of thethigh-section with its body,

spanning, said deep notch of the'lower section and secured insidethesame at th "bottom of such notch, a spring'conn front of the lowersection withsaid between the ends of the'latter, and yielding means fornormallystraighten ing the leg.- 3; In an artificial leg, thecombination with upper and lower leg-sections of shellacting thea likeconfiguration, hinge members attached I respectively thereto and witheach other, crossbar-s within said sections, and springs'connectingsaid-bars; of a strap secured .at its lower end the pivotally connected"upper end of'the lowerileg-section and at;

- its-upper end within the lower end ofthe thighfiction, and acontractile spring con attachment with the front portion of the -low'erleg-sect1on.--

' N an artificial leg, e combination w1t h-'upper and lower leg-sectionsof shell- 70 strap and buckle because m so many m- 95 Width upper andlower leg-sections ofshell-.

1'25 necting the, strap between said points oflike configuration, hingemembers attached wardbeneath the end thereof, and its forkedrespectively thereto and pivotally connected end secured inside thefront of said section, with each other, cross bars within saidsecsubstantially as described' tions, and springs connecting said bars;of In testimony whereof I have hereunto'set- 6 means for limiting thebending of the lower my hand in presence of two subscribing Wit- 1- Ileg-section in one direction, and a guard for uesses.

the lower end of the thigh-sectionconsisting SAMUEL R. ANDERSON; of asheet of metal cut initially into Y-shape Witnesses: with its single armsecured inside the rear CHAs. J. ZIPPRIGH,

\0 of said thigh-section, its body bent down- WM; M. FISHER.

